Feature image: Salvador Dali Exhibition, courtesy of d’Arenberg.
One of McLaren Vale’s most recognisable wine destinations has added another accolade to its collection, with d’Arenberg named South Australia’s winner of the 2027 Great Wine Capitals Best Of Wine Tourism Award for Art and Culture.
The award recognises d’Arenberg’s distinctive approach to wine tourism, where wine, art, architecture and immersive experiences come together inside its iconic d’Arenberg Cube.
The McLaren Vale winery was announced as the state winner at the SA Wine Industry Dinner at the National Wine Centre last week, alongside winners across six other wine tourism categories.
The Art and Culture category celebrates destinations that showcase the cultural side of a wine region, and d’Arenberg offers visitors considerably more than a traditional cellar door experience.
“It’s great for the team to have that side of what we do recognised. The building is more than just a tasting room, obviously, and there’s so much art in there,” fourth generation chief winemaker Chester Osborn said.
“There must be somewhere close to 500 sculptures and art pieces in the building.
“It really is a journey into wine in a deep, surrealistic way, and I think the recognition is fantastic.”
Inside the five-storey Cube, guests can move between wine tastings, dining and the Alternate Realities Museum, while also exploring an extensive collection of works by world-renowned artists.
The McLaren Vale region’s tourism body said the award recognised d’Arenberg’s “distinctive approach to creating a cellar door experience where wine and imagination come together”.
Images: Courtesy of d’Arenberg.
Art has long been a major part of the d’Arenberg experience, with the Cube itself becoming one of the region’s most distinctive architectural landmarks.
“It’s really evolved over time and just enriched the whole experience. It’s become much more than coming in to taste wine. The art is now a big part of what people come to the d’Arenberg Cube to see and experience,” Osborn said.
On Level 2, visitors can explore a major Salvador Dalí exhibition featuring 25 authentic bronze sculptures and graphic works, while the ground-floor Alternate Realities Museum is packed with immersive and interactive installations.
The art continues outside the Cube, with the neighbouring Modern Masters Marquee currently displaying works by artists including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall and Charles Billich, alongside The Art of Dr. Seuss, which delves into both his much-loved illustrations and the lesser-known paintings and sculptures he created away from his children’s books. The surrounding Sculpture Garden is also home to South Australian artist Greg Johns’ A Road Less Travelled retrospective.
The win now puts d’Arenberg on the international stage, with the winery set to represent South Australia at the Global Best Of Wine Tourism Awards in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, this October.
Sculpture by Greg Johns in d’Arenberg’s Sculpture Garden.
d’Arenberg is one of two McLaren Vale businesses to take home a 2027 Best Of Wine Tourism Award, with Beresford Estate named the state winner in the Accommodation category.
The awards are part of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, which connects leading wine regions around the world and recognises excellence and innovation in wine tourism.
For d’Arenberg, the latest recognition continues a long-standing focus on creating an experience that extends well beyond what is in the glass, bringing wine, food, art and architecture together in one of McLaren Vale’s most recognisable destinations.
“Wine and art really go hand in hand. They’re both art, of course, and when people visit a winery I think they want to be entertained and given something to think about. Art is a great way of doing that,” Osborn said.
“To represent South Australia and be recognised alongside some of the best wine tourism experiences in the world for art and culture is pretty special.”
d’Arenberg Cube
When: 10:30am – 4:30pm every day
Where: 58 Osborn Rd, McLaren Vale
To find out more about the various exhibitions and wine tastings, click here.
